


Outside the Castle Walls

by rwby_musings



Category: RWBY
Genre: Adam Taurus Being an Asshole, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Bad Parent Jacques Schnee, Betaed, Canon Disabled Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Dragon Yang Xiao Long, Dragons, Good Parent Taiyang Xiao Long, Horses, Human Sun Wukong (RWBY), Illusions, Multi, Mute Neopolitan (RWBY), Past Blake Belladonna/Adam Taurus, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Qrow Branwen, Royalty, Running Away, Weiss Schnee Needs a Hug, Witches, Yang Xiao Long Being Yang Xiao Long
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:08:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24564394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rwby_musings/pseuds/rwby_musings
Summary: Ruby Rose is the next in line to be Queen of Vale, but when the Atlesian royal family visits and reveals secrets Ruby wasn't supposed to know she decides to run away only to find one other person in the castle planning to do the same thing. As Ruby runs away from her royal responsibilities she finds out just how many things were hidden from her about her own kingdom and the people in it.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter I

The sun sat low in the sky as it signalled that night was growing closer. A peculiar blonde girl paid no heed to it though as she rode her horse out into the woods with a grin on her face. This girl happened to be quite important though, as it turns out she is the first princess of Vale, but that seemed to be far from her mind as she rode her beloved horse further into the wilderness.

This forest that the girl rode into happened to be quite dangerous due to its abundance of feral animals. The forest was usually prohibited for everyone except the royal guards who were only allowed in there to train. But, the blonde princess didn’t seem to care as her horse slowly stopped their gallop right in a small clearing of the forest.

As soon as she jumped off of her horse she seemed to start rummaging through one of the pouches on the side of her beloved mare. She quickly pulled out a small wooden container and a bowl which seemed too small for anyone to really eat a sufficient meal out of. The princess then squatted down to put the bowl down and then to open the container which seemed to emit a putrid smell. The blonde cringed as the first bit of the smell came towards her, but she fought against it and fully opened the container to reveal it was full of tuna.

She then went to tip the tuna out from the container and into the bowl until the blonde decided there was enough in the bowl and closed the container. The girl let out a little sigh as she put the container back into the pouch on her horse and then grabbed the bowl of tuna off from the ground.

The princess barely had to speak before a small black creature moved it’s way over to her. The blonde smiled as she put the bowl back down for the small cat and then watched contentedly as the cat ate the tuna she had put out for them.

It turns out that for the past couple weeks the princess had been bringing food from the castle to feed this small cat she had found on one of her previous adventures in the forest. It took quite a while to gain the cat’s trust and even then the blonde couldn’t try and pet the cat without the cat running away. So, now the princess would just watch as her new furry friend would eat some much needed food if she could judge anything by their size.

No one in the castle knew about the princess’ furry friend and the princess really needed to keep it like that. If anyone found out she had been going to the prohibited forest everyday then she would surely never be able to go again, let alone just be allowed to go outside.

But none of that really mattered right in this moment as the black cat who had just been eating was now slowly approaching the blonde princess who had been lost in thought. As soon as the princess saw this she noticeably perked up and watched as the cat eventually went up to her and sat down.

The cat tilted their head as they looked at the princess as the blonde slowly raised her hand so she could finally pet the cat. The blonde could almost feel the black fur under her fingers before the cat decided to turn around and run back into the forest. She sighed as the princess was now just sitting in silence as her horse ate grass nearby. Time had passed since she arrived at the forest and you could tell by how the once shining sun was now replaced by a shattered moon.

“It’s an improvement, I guess…” The girl sighed once more as she stood up and stretched a small bit.

Her horse, who had lovingly been named Bumblebee, neighed in response which caused the princess to chuckle a bit before walking over to them, “Yeah, I probably should start heading back by now…”

The ride back to the castle always seemed to be slower than the ride to the forest, but the princess knew that it was just her mind playing tricks on her as she rode towards the stables which were placed right outside the castle, near the famous Vale gardens. The princess quietly got off her steed when she neared the stables and quickly looked to see if anyone was around.

Slowly she led Bumblebee into her stall in the stable and was careful to avoid disturbing the other horses there. She smiled softly once she saw Bumblebee was already comfortable and just as the princess was about to leave the stables she heard a very loud and very sudden noise. The blonde turned her head quickly and only ended up seeing the royal family’s dog, Zwei, “Damn, Zwei- try and be a bit quieter next time please?” the princess asked the small black and white dog.

Zwei only tilted his head in confusion as he looked at the princess who was now groaning in frustration, “If anybody heard you and came looking then I’d be found out and we can’t have that happening, you got that?” she explained to Zwei who just seemed to be getting more and more confused.

“Yang? What are you talking about?” A quiet voice spoke from outside the stables, which quickly got the princesses attention.

The blonde, now identified as Yang, looked worried as she made eye contact with her little sister, Ruby, “U-uh.. I’m not talking about anything sis! You must’ve misheard something! I just decided to chill out with Bumblebee and Zwei before bed! Yeah, that’s it!” she quickly rushed together the words.

As Yang rushed an explanation the small brunette known as Ruby went and picked up Zwei, “I was here earlier with Zwei and I didn’t see Bumblebee in her stall though…”

This caused the already panicking blonde to give in as she started talking, “Fine, you caught me. Everyday after dinner I go out on Bumblebee and explore the forest.” she spoke purposefully not mentioning the cat.

Ruby’s eyes widened almost comically as she stared at her big sister, “Y-you- the  _ forest _ ?! No one can go- well the guards can but- does anyone else know?-  _ Wait _ \- bring  _ me _ next time!!” That's really what Yang was afraid of as she knew that her sister had no problem breaking rules, in fact she loved it, but she also loved adventure much like any royal who’s been cooped up inside for most of their lives.

But Ruby, unlike Yang, was next in line for the throne. If anything happened to their dad then Ruby would be forced up there automatically, even if she’s just a kid. So, Yang had to make sure Ruby never did anything too stupid, or else the entire kingdom would be put at stake. One of those stupid things just happened to be going to the forest, which Yang could do since she was never going to be Queen, but Ruby could absolutely  _ never _ .

Yang, well, Yang was different. Yang and Ruby may share a dad, but they didn’t share mother’s and that really complicated things due to Ruby’s Mother just happening to the Queen. Because of this Ruby was the prized child and Yang was never really counted as a true royal, mainly due to this, but also because of her mother. When the blonde was just a baby her mother had abandoned her so she could be with her tribe, that tribe was infamous due to it’s crimes and because of just what they were.

That tribe is known all throughout Remnant as the Draconics. These people worshipped Dragons and saw them as gods and so the dragons decided to reward them by giving these specific people dragon-like abilities that made them superior to normal humans. Yang’s mother was the leader of the tribe and due to that she was the strongest of them all, to this day the princess doesn’t know the specifics about her mother. But what she does know is that her mother was so strong and beloved by the dragons that Yang was given Draconic powers just because she was her daughter.

So many people despised Yang and her father just for their affiliation with the Draconics and it didn’t help when the Queen just simply vanished one day. Everyone blamed the new king, everyone thought he had her killed just so he could be the new ruler of Vale. Even to this day, years after her disappearance, people still blamed the king and held protests nearly every week.

This wasn’t the time to delve into that can of worms though as Ruby jumped around excitedly while still yammering on about the forest, “Ruby, we both know you can’t go to the forest, it’s impossible.” The blonde explained exasperatedly.

“It’s a lie saying that it’s impossible when it clearly is possible! You just don’t want me to go…” Ruby pouted childishly as she made it so Zwei would be covering half of her face.

Sighing, Yang continued, “You’re gonna be Queen eventually Ruby, imagine what would happen to me if I somehow got the future queen injured, the people would riot.” this was the truth, even if both Yang and Ruby didn’t want to believe it.

Ruby cast her eyes downward as she hugged Zwei even harder while whispering, “But I don’t really want to be queen…”

This did not help Yang as her resolve faltered quickly upon seeing her sister’s face, “Hey… Why don’t we just leave it for tonight? I promise we can talk more tomorrow.” Yang smiled softly as she put her hand on Ruby’s shoulder.

This time it seemed to work as Ruby lowered Zwei so her face was visible again, “You promise?”

“I promise.”


	2. Chapter II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby walks through the castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to my beta Raz3rbat!

Everything was blurry as Ruby shuffled her way out of her bed and placed her feet on the cold ground which caused her to let out a little shiver. The brunette moved her hands so she could rub her eyes while also yawning quietly. She quickly shook her head in order to wake herself up as she stood up and stretched out her arms.

Today seemed to be a cold day which Ruby noticed as she went to get changed into one of her dresses. Just as the princess was about to leave her room the door busted open, “Can you guess what I just found out?” Yang exclaimed excitedly while Ruby watched confused.

Ruby blinked twice before answering, “Uhh… Nope?” she shrugged innocently.

“The royal family of Atlas is visiting today!” Yang grinned as she watched her sister absorb the information.

The brunette princess was silent before suddenly her eyes widened and she jumped up into the air, “Ohmygod! It’s been years since they last came to Vale! Oh- I barely even remember meeting them!” she then suddenly gasped, “What if they want to show off their magic!! That would be so cool! And maybe we could see some Pegasi-- Yang are they bringing Pegasi? Please tell me they’re bringing the flying horses!”

As Ruby ranted in excitement Yang chuckled lightly while also watching with careful eyes. Yang was lucky because it seemed like Ruby forgot about their previous conversation, which Yang really did not want to continue.

To change the topic, the thing with the Atlas royal family is that they are very different to other royal families. Each royal family has a distinct trait that shows you are indeed royal, with Vale it’s silver eyes, but with Atlas it’s magic. In the world of Remnant there is a strange sub-species of Humans, they are called Witches. Witches look exactly like Humans, but they have strange abilities no possible Human could recreate. The Atlesian royal family just happened to be completely made up of Witches, which would be considered impossible with how much Witches were hated in Remnant.

Atlas just happens to be the only kingdom where Witches are liked, but only the royal family. Every other Atlesian Witch was dead due to human prejudice and now the royal family are barely even considered Witches, just royals. Atlas may be accepting of having Witches as their royals, but any other Witch is hunted and killed on sight there.

Vale was better, but even then just slightly, instead of plain murder Witches are allowed to live in Vale, but they struggle everyday with Human cruelty. Ruby wasn’t proud of this at all, but she knew her dad was trying everything he could in order to fix this problem and that was enough for her. Ruby herself was a big fan of Witches, she found it amazing how they can just do whatever they want with only their minds and magic. 

So Ruby was insanely excited to meet some new Witches, especially ones who are royal like her, “Wait! When are they going to arrive?” the princess finally stopped her rant.

This seemed to catch Yang’s attention as she had space out about four minutes ago, “I- I didn’t actually ask did I? Huh, well if you wanna go ask dad together?” Yang suggested.

Ruby’s excitement then seemed to deflate for some reason then, “I’d love that, but I have to do something before breakfast today…”

The brunette looked down at the floor with sadness in her eyes before feeling Yang place her hand on Ruby’s shoulder, “If it helps, Breakfast was hours ago.”

It was almost like Ruby was shot by lightning with how much shock she was in, “What?! Oh god what time is it?! I need to go!!” Ruby sputtered out before sprinting out of her room and only slightly tripping.

“To be fair you’re a very deep sleeper!” Yang called out to Ruby right as the brunette was turning a corner.

Ignoring her sister, Ruby continued to make twists and turns as she ran through the castle she grew up in. Earlier in the week Ruby had decided that she was going to learn how to fight today, but due to her being a princess no one really wanted to teach her. So, Ruby decided that she was going to watch the royal knights train and learn how to fight secretly though them. The royal knights always started training right before Breakfast, so Ruby was hoping to start watching them then so she could maybe stretch or something, but she seemed to have slept in today so she was going to have to join in the training midway.

As Ruby thought about how she is going to learn how to fight she suddenly ran right into something which caused her to fall butt first onto the hard ground. She groaned in pain as she sat up on the ground so she could see what it was that she ran into.

When Ruby looked up she then made direct eye contact with the person she had run into. Cold blue eyes stared right into Ruby’s scared silver ones, “What exactly do you think you are doing?” A sharp voice asked snobbily.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to-” Ruby was quickly cut off before she could properly apologize.

“It was a rhetorical question, you fool. I was under the illusion that the sole heir to the throne of Vale would be a bit more elegant.” The white-haired girl scoffed as she stared down at Ruby who was slowly realizing just who she had run into.

In front of Ruby stood the next in line to be Queen of Atlas, Weiss Schnee. Ruby had met Weiss before, but it was so long ago that neither of them really remembered it. But right now Weiss stood confidently as Ruby sat awkwardly on the hard floor of her own castle.

Ruby awkwardly chuckled while averting her eyes as she spoke, “So… You guys arrived early didn’t you?”

This just made the Atlesian princess sigh exhaustedly, “No wonder the King never visits this uncouth kingdom, if the royalty in Atlas were like this we would have been overthrown years ago.” Weiss explained condescendingly as she straightened out her dress.

“Wow, uh… That doesn’t sound great- but, uh, you can have fun here if you want?” Ruby suggested somewhat timidly as she smiled awkwardly.

Weiss didn’t seem interested in that at all though as she scoffed and started walking away, “Um… It was nice meeting you too? I guess?” the princess called out weakly before slumping back onto the ground.

The brunette then mumbled quietly, “Well… That was awkward…” as she got up from the ground clumsily.

As Ruby dusted off her now very dusty dress she heard footsteps echo throughout the hallway which made Ruby quite hopeful as she ran towards the footsteps, “Weiss! You came back-” she started as she turned towards who was hopefully Weiss, but instead turned out to be a random lanky blonde boy, “You’re not Weiss…” Ruby sulked as she let her shoulders drop disappointedly.

“Oh! Uh- no- I am not the princess, well not  _ the _ the princess because that’s you right? Oh god I’m talking to the princess right now and I’m ranting like an idiot- hi!” The blonde boy responded via stammering which caught Ruby’s attention as she looked up to see his face.

As Ruby studied this random blonde’s face, the boy seemed to be having a mini panic attack since the princess had not yet responded to his strange mess of words. After a while though it got quite awkward for Ruby too as she hadn’t heard what he said before and was hoping he’d say something else so she could respond, but so far they’d just been making awkward silent eye contact.

Eventually Ruby gulped down some air and decided to speak, “Uh… Hi there?” the princess waved and smiled quite awkwardly.

This seemed to shock the blonde boy as his eyes widened and he stumbled a bit backwards before speaking again, “Hello..?” he responded while his eyes darted around the room with anxiety.

“So… What’s your name?” Ruby asked as she was still smiling and waving strangely.

For some reason this seemed to make the blonde less anxious, “Oh! I-I’m Jaune Arc! A trainee for the Vale knights!” He smiled confidently as he explained who he was, before quickly realizing that he was indeed talking to the Princess of Vale, “Not that you need to know something like that…” he backtracked while laughing awkwardly.

Ruby, however, just smiled, “It’s nice to meet you Jaune! I hope we become good friends!” Ruby smiled with her eyes closed so she didn’t see Jaune’s new expression.

The young knight looked at the princess like she was insane before speaking, “Y-you do know you’re the princess, right?” He asked carefully while also taking a step backwards.   
  


This caused Ruby to open her eyes and laugh slightly, “Yeah, I know, but it’s always nice to meet new people!” the girl exclaimed as she took a step towards Jaune.

Jaune awkwardly averted his eyes as he started to sweat uncontrollably due to his anxiety, “I-I think I might be hallucinating right now… You d-don’t really want to be friends with someone who’s barely even a knight, yeah, I must be hallucinating right now…” He started muttering to himself as Ruby watched confusedly.

“You get really anxious don’t you?” Ruby asked quietly and somehow caught the panicking boy’s attention, “I get anxious too sometimes… But, I found out that it really helps to just have someone there with you. Yang helps me all the time when I get scared and I don’t know what I’d do without her. If you want, maybe I could help you out with your anxiety like how Yang helps with mine?” the princess suggested timidly.

That seemed to really catch Jaune’s attention as he calmed down slightly, “Th-that’s really nice of you, but I’m nothing compared to you. I’m just some kid who was barely lucky enough to even become a trainee for the Vale knights, I can’t be friends with the princess, I just can’t.” Jaune explained as he looked solemnly to the ground.

“Don’t do that!” Ruby exclaimed as she looked right at Jaune, “You’re a person Jaune! Just like me! We’re all people and we’re all equal! Just because I have silver eyes and I live in some big rock doesn’t mean I’m better than you!” the girl yelled out passionately while Jaune stood completely still in shock.

His eyes were wide from the shock and his mouth was left hanging open slightly which Ruby would have giggled at, but she was trying to prove a point so she didn’t. Jaune quickly came to his senses though and spoke, “I-I… I have to go…” he stuttered out before quickly walking past Ruby.

Silver eyes followed him as he walked away, “Great… I think I just messed up two potential friendships on the same day…” Ruby sulked with her head down and her shoulders slouched.

Those same silver eyes quickly turned sad as Ruby realized something else, “By now I’m probably way too late for training too…” she sighed with a depressed expression.

“I guess I should just get to lunch early then…” Ruby sighed once more before straightening out her posture and starting the walk to the dining area.

The Vale castle was a beautiful place, even Ruby had to admit that and she’s spent her entire life inside of it. The windows in the castle were wide and without glass so everyone could get a perfect view of the waterfall that fell right next to the castle and down to the townspeople. The view was almost magical in of itself as Ruby looked down to the busy town and the people in it. 

Sometimes Ruby wished she could just go into town and see all the happy people, but she was forbidden from leaving the castle grounds for even a minute. Being the sole heir to the throne meant she needed to be protected, at all costs. Yang could go wherever she wanted, albeit she always had to have a knight with her, but Yang could go into town and she could actually see the people there.

However, as it turns out, Yang had been going somewhere without a knight and that place was called the Emerald Forest. The Emerald Forest was forbidden to even the knights due to the wild animals that lived there, no one knew what exactly made those seemingly normal animals so rabid and not a single person dared to find out. Ruby didn’t know what exactly Yang was doing in those woods, but she wanted to find out and she was going to do just that, no matter what.

Ruby was getting closer to the dining area when she overheard something, “-think is going to happen? You have to appoint her soon or else someone is going to come for this wreck of a kingdom and I cannot promise it will not be me.” A stern and cold voice explained.

“I can’t just do that though! She’s only fifteen! She’s too young for this sort of pressure and responsibility!” Ruby definitely recognized that voice as she stepped closer to where this conversation was taking place.

“Then you must have raised her wrong, my children were able to rule before they could walk!” The cold voice was getting angry now as he yelled.

Then the familiar voice spoke up again, “You don’t understand! She’s only a kid and I can’t just force this on her!”

“Fine then! If Ruby Rose is not Queen by the time she is sixteen then Atlas will take over this kingdom as an act of mercy!” The cold voice yelled out causing a wave of silence to fall over the whole area.

Ruby froze when she heard what the familiar voice said in response, “We’ve got a deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are highly appreciated and if you have any questions then please ask on my Tumblr @rwby-au-galore!


	3. Chapter III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby attempts to escape and finds some unexpected surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to my beta readers! Avistar123 and Raz3rbat!

Night had arrived hours ago, but Ruby had to be very careful as she stuffed her belongings into an old bag she found in one of the storage rooms. The princess was determined to escape when she opened the door to her room and exited into the hallway.

Unlike the other nights Ruby has spent around the castle this night in particular seemed to be quite eerie, maybe it could be that the moon knew just what was going to happen tonight. Ruby had begun to descend the castle stairs so she could get to the back gardens when she heard a quiet voice speak up, “What are you doing?”

Ruby’s head whipped over to the direction the voice came from only to see Weiss, the next Queen of Atlas, standing there with a bag in hand, “Weiss? Oh, uh… I’m just going to the garden for a bit to hang out.” Ruby lied as she stared down at the ground guiltily.

Her answer didn’t seem to appease Weiss though as she raised an eyebrow questioningly, “Oh? Then why do you have a bag with you?” she asked accusingly.

“Well why do  _ you _ have a bag with you?” Ruby snapped back without thinking before quickly regretting it and taking a step further down on the stairs.

This seemed to affect Weiss as she glared at Ruby and put a hand on her hip, “That is none of your business.”

Now Ruby was starting to get fed up, “Then- then what I’m doing is none of your business either!” she exclaimed loudly which made Weiss flinch quite noticeably.

“Quiet you dolt! Or else you’re going to alert the rest of the castle about what we’re doing!” Weiss whisper-shouted angrily while looking around the hallway anxiously.

That’s when it hit Ruby that Weiss was going to run away, just like how Ruby was, “You’re running away? But, why?” the princess of Vale asked curiously.

Weiss lowered her arm and her expression turned into quite a sad one before she spoke, “That… that’s none of your business.” her tone moved from depressed to cold in less than a second.

The red princess saw how Weiss’ expression changed so quickly, but she thought it would be best if she didn’t say anything, “Well, I am going to leave now and where I’m going is-” the cold princess was cut off by Ruby tiredly finishing her sentence, “none of my business…” 

She then huffed and quickly walked past Ruby so she could descend the stairs. Ruby, however, quickly walked behind the white-haired princess and watched as Weiss looked left and right repeatedly after reaching the end of the staircase, “Do you even know how to get out of here?” Ruby asked bluntly which caused Weiss to freeze up and for her face to turn pink.

“I- I do! It’s been a long time since my family has come to visit this place!” Weiss exclaimed while also pointing rudely at Ruby.

Ruby chuckled lightly at this which just made Weiss turn even more pink until the stuck-up princess just turned around and crossed her arms while huffing. This just made Ruby laugh slightly louder, “If you want, I could help you?” the laughing girl offered to the suddenly paling Weiss.

“I don’t need any help! I can do this by myself and your inability to accept that is by far the most aggravating thing I have ever had to deal with!” The white-haired girl snapped as she yelled and pointed accusingly at Ruby.

Everything went silent after that outburst, as all Ruby could hear was Weiss’ heavy breathing as she glared at the younger princess. Hearing footsteps from the hallway both girls went silent as they watched carefully down the hallway from where they heard the footsteps from, “H-hello? Is anyone there? You know if you come out now maybe you could get away with just like a fine or s-something?” A familiar stuttering voice called out.

Ruby’s eyes widened as soon as she recognized that voice and she was about to call back before abruptly she had a cold hand covering her mouth and muffling her words. This caused Ruby to furrow her eyebrows upsetly until she came up with an idea.

“Did- Did you just lick my hand?!” Weiss almost screamed as she pulled her hand away in a way similar to that of someone who was just injured.

This caused Jaune who was almost about to walk away to run over to where Weiss and Ruby were hiding by the staircase, “Wh-whoevers there needs to come out right n- princess?!” Jaune quickly cut himself off once he saw Ruby awkwardly smile and wave at him, “Other princess?!” he exclaimed again when he saw Weiss who was flinging her hand back and forth with a disgusted expression on her face.

Jaune stood stiffly in front of the staircase with his sword hanging limply from his hands as his eyes constantly flickered from Ruby to Weiss and Weiss to Ruby, “So… uh… Nice to see you again?” Ruby spoke in an awkward fashion as she stopped waving and was still smiling strangely.

Weiss had a different reaction than Ruby however because she punched him while letting out a small pained squeak which was apparently enough to knock him out, “Wha- Why would you do that?!” Ruby whispered loudly at Weiss who was now rubbing her hand gingerly.

“We can’t let anyone know what we are doing! That knight probably would have run to get back-up or to alert the King and we absolutely cannot have that happening!” Weiss quietly exclaimed while glaring at Ruby.

Ruby quietly giggled though when Weiss was finished talking, “You said ‘we’.” she smiled sweetly before Jaune groaned on the floor which made Ruby panic and kick him in the head.

Weiss stopped glaring and instead looked up from the now fully unconscious Jaune to a very guilty looking Ruby, “Well, we really are in this together now.”

This caused Ruby to grimace as she nudged Jaune with her foot until he was on his back, “What are we going to do with him?” Ruby asked while looking at the unconscious blonde.

“We leave him,” Weiss stated as if it were obvious, “The other knights will find him by the time morning comes.”

Ruby revealed a shocked expression on her face before speaking, “We can’t just leave him though! He’s my friend! It’d be rude to just leave him on the ground!” Ruby defended him.

Weiss’s face lit up with frustration at Ruby’s inability to understand the brevity of their situation, “Well we can’t exactly bring him with us!” she yelled as quietly as she could.

This gave Ruby an idea though and soon Ruby and Weiss were walking down the castle halls with Jaune on their shoulders, “I cannot believe that you roped me into this.” the cold princess mumbled as she struggled to walk with her heels.

“We couldn’t just leave him there and either way we’re here.” Ruby explained as they arrived in front of the back door that should lead them to the castle’s famous rose garden, but before they opened the door Weiss spoke up again, “What exactly even is your plan for getting out of this place?” she questioned bluntly.

At this, Ruby smiled childishly, “Well, you know how to ride a horse right?” she asked cheekily while she opened the backdoor.

“Actually, no, I do not know how to ride a horse.” Weiss stated bluntly as she staggered out the backdoor with Jaune still on her and Ruby’s backs.

Silver eyes stared awkwardly at the cold princess as Ruby’s brain struggled to work, “B-but you know how to ride a pegasus right?” she stuttered out with a hopeful glint in her eyes.

Cold Blue eyes stared into Ruby’s hopeful silver ones, “You do know that pegasi and horses are different right?” Weiss asked judgmentally.

“Uh… But aren’t pegasi just horses with wings?” The red princess asked innocently.

Weiss scoffed before deciding to just keep walking, “I may as well be the one to ride the horse since I seriously doubt you could do anything if you actually think pegasi are that similar to horses.” she replied coldly.

The young princess looked down at the ground sadly for a moment before snapping her head up with a shaky grin on her face, “That’s great! I know just where we can go once we get the horse!” Ruby exclaimed as she smiled brightly.

“Alright then, where exactly will we be heading?” Weiss asked curiously as she walked with Ruby through the garden and towards the stables.

“To the Emerald forest!” Ruby exclaimed, her face lighting up with joy. 

They were very close to the stables at this point when Weiss spoke up, “In case you have forgotten, I am the princess of Atlas and I haven’t been to Vale since I was a toddler, so if you could actually explain what this ‘Emerald Forest’ is, I might have some more confidence in you.” the cold princess looked at Ruby with a deadpan expression.

Ruby started to laugh awkwardly at this point in which they had reached the strangely open door to the stables, “Well, the Emerald Forest is the forest that’s like, super close to the castle, but no one ever really goes there ever, for some… unknown reason.” Ruby sheepishly explained while also leaving out some important details.

“Well that doesn’t sound suspicious at all.” Weiss spoke in a sarcastic tone as she shrugged Jaune off of her shoulders, leaving him half on the floor with Ruby now struggling to hold the rest of his weight.

Freezing blue eyes looked carefully over all the horses in the stables before landing on one horse in particular, “This one, this horse looks strong enough to hold us and the dead weight.” She spoke suddenly and bluntly.

“He isn’t dead weight-” Ruby cut herself off by stumbling yet again due to Jaune’s weight, “Okay, he kind of is, but still!” she exclaimed defensively before all of a sudden going into a daze.

Silver eyes seemed to lock onto one particular empty stall, "If either of you slow me down in any way, I will leave you both behind..” Weiss stated coldly as she crossed her arms and watched disinterestedly as Jaune slid to the ground due to Ruby loosening her grip.

“Bumblebee isn’t here.” Ruby finally spoke in a quiet voice that Weiss could barely hear.

“If you have bees in your garden I swear to god I will get on that horse and never come back.” Weiss spoke in an agitated tone as she was now looking all around her cautiously.

Weiss’ voice seemed to have caught Ruby’s attention though as the red princess hurriedly put her hands up, “What? No- no we don’t have any bees! I mean- my sister’s horse! Her horse’s name is Bumblebee!” Ruby blurted out..

“And this is important because?” Weiss drawled out impatiently.

Ruby’s eyes shone with excitement as she exclaimed, “That means my sister is in the Emerald Forest!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry about the long wait, but I went to the hospital a while back and I haven't been able to write since, so i really hope you all enjoy!


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